India and Pakistan are experiencing a severe heat wave that has reached temperatures close to 50°C. Pakistani authorities issued a heat alert for the country, which recorded a 47°C, its highest temperature in 61 years.
Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman urged federal and provincial governments to take precautionary measures to deal with the intense heatwave, which has hit highs of 47C in parts of the country.
“South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan, is facing a record heatwave. It started in early April and has people gasping for breath at every shade they can find,” Rehman said in a statement.
2 of 3 A man breaks an ice cube to distribute to residents of Ahmedabad, India — Photo: Amit Dave/REUTERS
A man breaks an ice cube to distribute to residents of Ahmedabad, India Photo: Amit Dave/REUTERS
More than a billion people in the region are at risk of heatrelated effects, according to Reuters, scientists have warned, linking the early start of an intense summer to climate change.
“For the first time in decades, Pakistan has transitioned from winter to summer without a spring,” Rehman said.
Glaciers in the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Karkorum mountains have been melting rapidly, creating thousands of glacial lakes in northern Pakistan, about 30 of which are threatened by dangerous flash floods, the Climate Change Ministry said, adding that about 7 million people are at risk .
3 out of 3 Pakistanis try to cool off in a lake on a hot day — Photo: Akhtar Soomro/REUTERS
Pakistanis try to cool off in a lake on a hot day — Photo: Akhtar Soomro/REUTERS
A senior scientist at India’s Meteorological Department said on Friday hot conditions will continue for the next three days but temperatures will drop following the arrival of the monsoons, which are expected in some parts in May.
“We treat many patients who have suffered from heat stroke or other heatrelated problems,” said Mona Desai, former president of the Ahmedabad Medical Association in the Indian state of Gujarat.
She said 6070% of the patients were of school age and complained of vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, weakness and other symptoms.
The streets were deserted in Bhubaneshwar, in east India’s Odisha state, where schools were closed, while neighboring West Bengal brought the summer holidays forward by a few days.